Alex Pritchard could be the man to provide a boost to the Tottenham midfield next season, after once again shining in a Brentford shirt.

Erik Lamela's goalscoring has been poor this season, and the arrival of Pritchard could signify an increase in competition for places on the wings once again. One of the things that is most evident about Spurs' young loan star is that he is a very capable striker of the ball from range, and area of the Argentinian's game that has been lacking over the present campaign.

It could have been Pritchard's last game for the Bees, but Mark Warburton's side made sure of at least a couple more opportunities by qualifying for the playoffs, and Pritchard will once more be looking to underline his quality.

In Brentford's 2-0 win over Wigan, the youngster was again a key figure and below we consider his statistics in comparison to how he may fit into Tottenham's team next year.

Alex Pritchard stats against Wigan

Position

Team

Goals

Total Att Assist

Ontarget Scoring Att

Passing Accuracy

Won Contest

Touches

Appearances

Mins Played

Alex Pritchard

MF

Brentford

1

3

2

77.5%

6

60

1

71

The 21-year-old sent the Bees on their way to the playoffs with a free-kick from 30 yards that took a big deflection of the Wigan wall. He displayed good dribbling and creative abilities in the 2-0 win, and underlined why he is such a prospect at Tottenham.

Of course, Pritchard's statistics are collected at a lower level of football than the Premier League, but his strengths remain his creative skills and shooting accuracy from various distances, something he would of course be eager to continue to utilise when he steps up a division.

Lamela, on the other hand, has been unable to transfer his strong goalscoring efforts from Serie A to the Premier League.

Alex Pritchard and Erik Lamela 2014/15 seasons

Position

Team

Goals

Goal Assist

Attempted Assist per Game

Ontarget Scoring Attempt per Game

Successful Take Ons per Game

Touches per Game

Shooting Accuracy from Outside of Box

Attempts from Outside of Box

Appearances

Mins Played

Alex Pritchard

MF

Brentford

12

7

2.49

1.07

1.24

66

65.39%

26

45

3688

Erik Lamela

MF

Tottenham

2

6

1.77

0.33

1.73

52

57.14%

7

30

2043

Though many Spurs fans would admit that the Argentinian has had a significantly better season than his debut campaign, his two Premier League goals in 30 appearances is a poor return.

Against Manchester City on Sunday, Lamela again spurned several shooting chances from just outside the box that an attacking player as gifted as the 23-year-old should be willing to take at least occasionally.

The stats below indicate that he has had just 7 shots from outside the box all season, and is likely to register a shot on target just once every three games.

Pritchard, who was selected in the Championship team of the year in April, by contrast has almost four times as many shots from distance, and registers a shot on target more than once a game.

If the young Englishman was to be given a chance in the Spurs team next year ahead of Lamela, the side would seemingly be certain of a more direct attacking threat.

And if he steps up a league as seamlessly as he managed this year, having starred in League One with Swindon in 2013-14, maybe Pritchard will once more be talked about as a potential team of the year nominee.

Che Thomas

Che is an Englishman abroad unable to cut the apron strings tying him to the crazy world of English football. As a writer and freelance journalist, he has covered matches and cultural events from across the globe all with the intention to inform, entertain and provoke debate. Just as smitten with music, film, and photography, though fully aware of the fact that nothing takes the place of that Saturday afternoon excitement down at N17 (even when it's actually on a Sunday!)